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Mayor appoints Clay to council

The city of Broken Bow is once again operating with a full city council. Kelly Clay was appointed Monday to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Scott Spanel. Clay becomes the third of the four council members to be appointed. Only Chad Schall was elected to the council. Bill Adams was appointed to fulfill the remaining two-years of the seat vacated by Cory Staples, and Cody Schmick was appointed after the death of Jim Franssen. Clay was unable to attend the Monday council meeting. Election of council president was tabled until the next meeting, so a full council could be present. The council approved two other appointments by Mayor Cecil Burt. Amy Taylor was appointed to the Park Board to fill a position vacated by Mike Hunsberger, while Lori Reynolds was also appointed to the Park Board in place of Michelle Zlomke. Meanwhile, Parks Superintendent Dan Anderson presented two recommendations on behalf of the Park Board. The first recommendation was for rebuilding the dock at Melham Lake, a project Anderson says should be done before next Spring. The board received two bids for the project, from Ron Ripp Construction, and from Jones Brothers Construction. The council approved the Park Board’s recommendation to award the bid to Ron Ripp Construction for $8,500. The second recommendation from the Park Board was for refurbishing the outdoor tennis courts, located north of the new Wellness Center and indoor tennis court facility. The board recommends maintaining two of the courts for tennis and converting the third to a basketball court. Anderson shared details of a bid for $23,700 for the project, which would include resurfacing the courts, replacing fencing and replacing lighting. Councilman Bill Adams stated he would like to see more input from the public on the proposed project, and the issue was tabled for now. The issue of the sale of park lots on South 5th Avenue was revisited, as no bids were received during the prior advertising. The lots had been advertised for sale for bids of $5,000 or more. The council decided to re-advertise the sale of the lots, with no minimum bid required. City Clerk Elaine Bayer reminded the council that since the minimum bid is less that $5,000, the sale only needs to be posted and does not have to be advertised in the paper. Discussion also took place on the sale of property at Indian Hills. Councilman Adams said he believes this property would be ideal for the construction of single family homes. Zoning administrator Cindy Pearson stated that the property had been advertised in 2008, and at that time was surveyed as two cul-de-sacs. The property has since, however, been split. CEDC Director Melissa Garcia agreed with Adams, saying the biggest issue she hears from local businesses regarding hiring from outside the community is the housing issue. The 4.9 acres of property for sale has the potential for as many as eight homes. Pearson said there is currently someone interested in the property, but did not say who that is. Again, Adams said this is an issue he feels needs more input from the community. The council voted to table the discussion pending further research and community input. A step was taken in making the 5th Avenue Connector Trail a closer reality, as the city entered into a interlocal agreement with the city of Loup City to share Alicia Toczek. She will serve as the responsible charge for the Broken Bow project, and is currently working on a similar project in Loup City. The council agreed to pay Toczek $30 per hour, which will be paid to the city of Loup City and then reimbursed to her. In one final action item, the council voted to change the day of council meetings from the second and fourth Monday of each month, to the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The meetings will still take place at noon. The change was requested by the utility department to coincide with the Utility Board meetings. The change will go into effect for the October meetings.